Negotiated distribution of cache content

ABSTRACT

Improved caching of content at caching proxy (“CP”) servers is disclosed. In one aspect, negotiations occur before content is dynamically distributed, whereby an entity such as a Web server selects content and at least one target CP server, and sends a content distribution request to each target, describing the content to be distributed. Preferably, the selection is made by dynamically prioritizing content based on historical metrics. In another aspect, a CP server that receives a content distribution request during these negotiations determines its response to the distribution request. Preferably, content priority of already-cached content is compared to priority of the content described by the content distribution request when making the determination. In yet another aspect, a CP server selectively determines whether to cache content during cache miss processing. Preferably, this comprises comparing content priority of already-cached content to priority of content delivered to the CP server during the cache miss.

RELATED INVENTIONS

The present invention is related to the following commonly-assignedinventions, which were filed concurrently herewith and which are herebyincorporated herein by reference: U.S. Publication 2005/0060497 (Ser.No. 10/662,210), “Selectively Accepting Cache Content”, and U.S.Publication 2005/0060497 (Ser. No. 10/661,976), titled “SelectivelyCaching Cache-Miss Content”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to content caching in a network computingenvironment, and deals more particularly with techniques for negotiatingthe dynamic distribution of cache content.

2. Description of the Related Art

Content caching techniques are commonly used in a network environmentsuch as the Internet. A sample network configuration 100 is shown inFIG. 1. When a client 101 requests Web content from a Web/applicationserver (“WAS”), such as WAS 109, the content can be returned morequickly if it is already stored in a cache store that is located nearthe requesting client 101. For example, in FIG. 1, the request fromclient 101 may be received at a load-balancing server (“LB”) 102, suchas the IBM® WebSphere® Edge Server. Unbeknownst to the requestingclient, this LB server transparently handles requests for the actualWeb/application server, which is located at the “back end” of the Website. (“IBM” and “WebSphere” are registered trademarks of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation.)

An edge server such as the IBM WebSphere Edge Server may actually servetwo functions. First, it may serve as a load-balancing server. In thismode, the edge server improves a Web site's performance, scalability,and availability by transparently clustering edge, Web, and applicationservers. (That is, the edge server serves as a single entry point intothe network, from which these various servers are transparentlyaccessible.) The LB server also provides site selection, workloadmanagement, and transparent fail-over. Load-balancing servers aredistributed throughout the network in locations where they provideconvenient customer access, thereby easing network congestion.

The second function an edge server may perform is that of a cachingproxy (“CP”) server, such as CP 107 in FIG. 1. (The load balancing andcaching proxy functions are depicted in FIG. 1 as distinct entities 102,107 to highlight their functionality. In some cases, these functions maybe combined in a single product, such as the IBM WebSphere Edge Server.In other cases, these functions may be provided as separate products.) ACP server improves customer response time by offloading requests forcontent (such as images, static Web pages, dynamic Web page content,streaming video, and so forth), whereby cached content can be returned104 directly from the CP server 107 to the requesting client 101 ratherthan requiring access to a WAS 109 at the back end of the network.

A LB server is aware of the caching proxy servers (e.g., CP servers 105,106, 107) from which it is able to obtain content. When the LB server102 receives a content request from client 101, for example, LB server102 will choose one of the available CP servers such as CP server 107(using round-robin selection or some other technique), and forward theclient's request to that CP server. (Alternatively, the LB server mayuse redirection to notify the requesting client that the client shouldrequest the content directly from the selected CP server.)

Upon receiving a content request, the CP server checks its local cache.If the requested content is found in the cache, this is called a “cachehit”, and the CP server returns that content to the requester (forexample, as shown by path 104).

If the requested content is not in the cache, this is called a “cachemiss”. In this case, the CP server requests the content from theWeb/application server, such as WAS 109. The WAS returns the content tothe CP server, and the CP server then places that content in its localcache and also returns the content to the requesting client.

Optionally, each WAS and edge server can be monitored by a Web siteanalysis tool, such as the IBM Tivoli® Website Analyzer (“TWA”), whichis shown in various locations in FIG. 1. For example, TWA 103 is shownas monitoring LB server 102. Website Analyzer is aware of all contentrequests arriving at the WAS or edge server, and keeps track of thishistorical data. (“Tivoli” is a registered trademark of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation.)

Another piece of commonly-used software is a central database storagefacility such as IBM Tivoli Enterprise Data Warehouse (“TEDW”), which isshown at 110 in FIG. 1. TEDW provides a centralized repository in whichhistorical management systems data can be recorded. Thus, TWA mayforward information it gathers to TEDW for recording.

A common task for keeping this Web infrastructure working as it shouldis the distribution of content to the CP servers. Presently, this isdone by one of two techniques: content is distributed responsive to aparticular client request during a cache miss (as described above), or asystems administrator manually distributes content to CP servers(typically by reviewing reports of past content requests).

In the cache miss case, the CP server's local cache is always updated,even when this is not optimal. For example, when a cache miss occurs fora rarely-requested piece of content, the CP server's local cache will beupdated even though that content is not likely to be requested again.This is a waste of scarce resources.

If the CP server's cache was already full when this rarely-requestedcontent is cached, even more problems are created. The cache-misscontent will need to replace some already-cached content. Complex andcompute-intensive algorithms may be required to determine whichpreviously-cached content should be replaced. When the cache-misscontent is rarely requested, these computations are also wastedoverhead. Furthermore, the content that is replaced may result in acache miss of its own if it is subsequently requested, which willconsume additional resources.

In the case where a systems administrator manually distributes content,reports generated from historical data gathered by TWA and stored byTEDW may be used in the administrator's decision-making process.However, this task of deciding which content to distribute, and where itshould be distributed, is a never-ending job. When a potential CP serveris selected by the administrator, the administrator also has to look atwhat content is already being served by that CP server to determine ifthe new content is higher priority than that which is already beingserved. This is a non-trivial task even in a relatively simpleenvironment, and becomes overwhelming in an enterprise Webinfrastructure which may have hundreds of servers and hundreds ofthousands of pieces of content.

Accordingly, what is needed are improvements in content distribution tocaching proxy servers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide improvements in contentdistribution to caching proxy servers.

Another object of the present invention to provide techniques fornegotiating dynamic distribution of cache content.

A further object of the present invention is to selectively acceptcontent for caching at caching proxy servers.

Yet another object of the present invention is to selectively acceptcontent for caching based on evaluation of content priority.

Still another object of the present invention is to selectively cachecontent at a caching proxy server during a cache miss.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forthin part in the description and in the drawings which follow and, inpart, will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practiceof the invention.

To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the purpose ofthe invention as broadly described herein, in a first aspect the presentinvention provides techniques for negotiated dynamic distribution ofcache content. This preferably comprises selecting candidate content fordistribution to a cache store and sending, to the cache store, a requestmessage that describes the candidate content. This aspect preferablyfurther comprises distributing the candidate content to the cache storeonly if a response message received from the cache store indicates thatthe cache store accepts the candidate content. The request message sentto the cache store may describe the candidate content using informationsuch as the candidate content's size, type, security classification,and/or hit rate. Optionally, the request message may be sent to aplurality of cache stores. As a further option, an alternative cachestore may be selected when the response message to the original requestindicates that the original cache store rejects the candidate content.As yet another option, the candidate content may comprise a plurality offiles to be distributed as a unit.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides techniques forselectively accepting content for caching, responsive to a negotiationrequest. This preferably comprises: receiving, at a cache store, arequest message inquiring whether the cache store will accept particularcontent for caching; deciding, responsive to receiving the requestmessage, whether the cache store will accept or reject the particularcontent; and sending, from the cache store, a response to the requestmessage, wherein the response indicates the cache store's decision. Thisaspect preferably further comprises subsequently receiving theparticular content at the cache store only if the response indicatedthat the cache store's decision was to accept the particular content.

The decision of whether to accept or reject the particular content maybe based on a description of the content which is specified in therequest message. A hit rate of the content may be evaluated, and thecontent may be accepted if its hit rate is higher than hit rates ofalready-cached content. In addition or instead, resources of the cachestore may be considered. Content priority associated with the particularcontent may be compared to priorities associated with already-cachedcontent.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides techniques forselectively caching content when a cache miss occurs. This preferablycomprises: receiving, at a cache store responsive to a cache miss,content for which the cache miss occurred; deciding whether the receivedcontent should be cached at the cache store, responsive to the receivingstep, and only caching it if so; and returning the received content fromthe cache store to a client that sent a request that caused the cachemiss, regardless of the decision as to caching. The decision may be madeby evaluating a hit rate associated with the content and decidingwhether content having that hit rate may be advantageously cached by thecache store, or whether the hit rate associated with the content ishigher than hit rates associated with other content already cached bythe cache store (and if so, deciding to accept the content). Contentpriority associated with the content may be compared to prioritiesassociated with already-cached content at the cache store.

In another aspect, the present invention provides methods of doingbusiness, as will be described herein

The present invention will now be described with reference to thefollowing drawings, in which like reference numbers denote the sameelement throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a Web infrastructure of the prior art;

FIG. 2 provides a flowchart showing logic with which dynamicdistribution of content may be negotiated, according to preferredembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 5 illustrate a sample format and syntax that may be used forcontent distribution request and response messages, respectively, duringthe negotiation disclosed herein;

FIG. 4 provides a flowchart showing logic that may be used at a cachingproxy server to determine how to respond during negotiations for contentdistribution, according to preferred embodiments; and

FIG. 6 provides a flowchart illustrating logic that may be used at acaching proxy server to selectively cache content when a cache missoccurs.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention discloses improved techniques for caching content.Preferred embodiments refer to the cache store where content will be(potentially) cached as a caching proxy server. In one aspect,negotiations occur before content is dynamically distributed forcaching. In another aspect, a CP server that receives a contentdistribution request during these negotiations determines how to respondto the request. In yet another aspect, a CP server selectivelydetermines whether to cache content during cache miss processing.

According to preferred embodiments of the first aspect, a WASdynamically prioritizes content for deployment to a CP server based onhistorical metrics. A content distribution request is created and issent to one or more selected CP servers. Each CP server receiving thisrequest determines its response to the distribution request, accordingto the second aspect. In preferred embodiments of this second aspect,content priority of already-cached content is compared to priority ofthe content described by a content distribution request when making thedetermination of whether to accept content for caching. According topreferred embodiments of the third aspect, content priority ofalready-cached content is compared to priority of content delivered tothe CP server during a cache miss, and that cache miss content isselectively cached, depending on the comparison of content priorities.

Preferred embodiments will now be described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 2–6.

In the first aspect, content is selected for distribution to CP servers.Preferably, the selection is made by code operating on a WAS (such as anIBM WebSphere Application Server placed at element 109 of FIG. 1).Alternatively, a WAS might invoke this functionality from anotherlocation where the content-selection code is operable. The contentselection is preferably made by examining historical access data thatreflects run-time requests for content over a representative time period(which may be configurable). This historical access data may be storedin a repository or data management facility such as the IBM TivoliEnterprise Data Warehouse 110.

Block 200 of FIG. 2 represents this evaluation or analysis of historicaldata. Preferably, metrics such as the content request rate or “hit rate”over a certain period of time are used to determine whether a specificpiece of content is a candidate for being distributed to a CP server(such as CP server 107 of FIG. 1).

Once content that is a candidate for distribution is identified (Block205), the dynamic distribution negotiation begins. At Block 210, the WASselects, through round-robin or other suitable technique, a CP serverwhich may potentially serve that content. Or, multiple CP servers may beselected, if desired. A content distribution request message isformatted (Block 215) for delivery to each such server. In preferredembodiments, this request message contains a number of details about thespecific piece of content. (Refer to the discussion of FIG. 3, below,for more information about content distribution request messages.)

The content distribution request is sent to the target (Block 220), anda response is subsequently received (Block 225). Block 230 then testswhether the response message indicates that the target will accept thiscontent for caching. (FIG. 4, described below, provides more informationon how a particular CP server may arrive at the decision reflected inits response.) If the test in Block 230 has a positive result,processing continues at Block 235, where the WAS sends the content tothe target CP server for caching. The processing of FIG. 2 then ends.

When the test in Block 230 has a negative result, on the other hand,optional processing may be performed to determine whether there isanother CP server to which the candidate content might be distributed.Blocks 240–245 represent this optional processing. At Block 240, a testis made to determine whether to try the negotiations again. If not, thenthe processing of FIG. 2 ends. Otherwise, a new target CP server isselected (Block 245), after which control returns to Block 220 to sendthe content distribution request to that new target and await itsresponse.

Note that the optional processing path in FIG. 2 reuses thepreviously-formatted content distribution request message (i.e., therequest created at Block 215). Alternatively, it may be desirable tocreate a new request message. It may happen, for example, that creationof a new request message enables the WAS to better track a correlationbetween content distribution requests and the eventual placement of thecandidate content. If a new request is to be created, control preferablyreturns to Block 215 rather than Block 220 following completion of theprocessing of Block 245. As a further alternative, processing may returnto Block 210 following a positive result in Block 240.

The processing in FIG. 2 may be triggered in various ways. As oneexample, network conditions may be monitored, and occurrence of selectedconditions (such as cache miss rates exceeding a configured threshold)may operate as a trigger. As another example, a timer-driven approachmay be used as a trigger, whereby operation of the logic of FIG. 2occurs at specific times or at periodic intervals.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a content distribution request message is shownusing a sample format and syntax. As noted above, this request messagecontains details about the specific piece of content that is a candidatefor distribution. These details are referred to herein as a “contentdescriptor”. Preferably, a structured markup language is used forencoding the content descriptor. The sample syntax in FIG. 3 uses theExtensible Markup Language (“XML”), by way of illustration.

According to preferred embodiments, the content descriptor describes thecontent that may be distributed using information such as the following:(1) the size of the content; (2) the number of requests the WAS isreceiving for this content over some period of time; (3) a securitylevel associated with the content; and/or (4) a content type associatedwith the content. In addition, a content identifier is preferablyincluded in each content descriptor, for later use by the WAS to matchan outbound distribution request with an inbound response. (For example,when control reaches Block 235 of FIG. 2, the content identifier enablesthe WAS to efficiently locate the content that has been accepted forcaching at a target CP server.)

With reference to item (2) in the list above, rather than consideringthe number of requests received by the WAS which is requesting thedynamic content distribution, the WAS may alternatively consider requestmetrics pertaining to one or more other entities in the networkinfrastructure. For example, a particular WAS might consider the numberof requests received by an edge server and/or requests received by adifferent WAS (or requests received by multiple edge servers and/ormultiple Web/application servers). A pre-emptive approach to contentdistribution that considers such entities may further improve resourceusage. By appropriate use of metrics in the content selection process, aWAS can proactively distribute content to one or more caching locationsin the network, in order to improve factors such as network responsetime for clients, distribution of processing load, and so forth.

As shown in the example of FIG. 3, a content descriptor 300 is encodedin an element which (for purposes of illustration) is named“CacheDistributionContentRequest”. See reference number 301. In theexample, an attribute 302 of this element is used to specify the contentidentifier. A child element is used in the sample syntax of FIG. 3 forencoding the content size, hit rate, security level, and content type.These will now be described in more detail.

The “Size” element 310 preferably uses an attribute, which is denotedherein as “unit”, to specify the unit of measurement pertaining to thiselement's value. In the example, the candidate content is 25.4 MB insize. The “HitRate” element 320 also preferably uses an attribute,denoted herein as “unit”, to specify the period of time represented bythe element's value. In the example, the hit rate of the candidatecontent is 3500 hits per hour.

If the candidate content has an associated security level, this may beindicated using an element such as “SecurityLevel” 330. A sample valueshown in FIG. 3 is “classified”. The content type associated with thecandidate content may be specified using an element such as“ContentType” 340, and in the example, the value of this element isshown as “AVI” (i.e., content in “audio visual interleaved” format).

The WAS may not be aware of a target CP server's resources. For example,the WAS may not know whether a target CP server has capacity availablein its cache for storing the candidate content or whether it canproperly protect classified content (including whether the CP server canserve content using a secure access method). Furthermore, in some cases,a single computer hosts more than one CP server (as illustrated bycomputer 108 in FIG. 1), in which case the hosted CP servers are sharingresources such a storage, memory, and network connections. These CPservers compete for the shared resources, making it infeasible for a WASto track their available resources at a point in time. Therefore,according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is thetarget CP server that makes an intelligent decision about whether itcan, and should, accept the candidate content which the WAS proposes todistribute for caching. The manner in which this decision may be madewill now be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

At Block 400 of FIG. 4, a CP server receives a content distributionrequest message. This message preferably contains a content descriptorconveying information such as that described above with reference toFIG. 3. In preferred embodiments, a test is then made at the CP server(Block 405) to determine whether this CP server is capable of servingthis content from its cache. Preferably, information from the contentdescriptor is used in making this decision, along with information suchas the CP server's currently-available resources.

Factors that may be used by a CP server to determine whether it can, andshould, accept content for caching include one or more of the following:

(1) historical metrics (which may, for example, be stored in arepository such as TEDW 110 in FIG. 1), including metrics pertaining toother content which this CP server has in its cache

(2) whether this CP server is able to cache and/or serve secure content

(3) whether sufficient disk space exists on this CP server to hold thecontent

(4) whether the CP server can serve content of this type

(5) the reliability of this CP server

(6) this CP server's processor capacity

(7) the current processor load at this CP server

(8) the network capacity at this CP server

With reference to item (4) in the list above, for example, it may happenthat the candidate content is an Enterprise JavaBean™ (“EJB™”). If theCP server is not running an EJB server, then it cannot serve the EJB toa requester, and it is therefore pointless to accept the EJB forcaching. Or, a CP server might not be able to serve content forperformance reasons. For example, a CP server that can serve EJBs mayhave a configured maximum number of allowed EJBs that it can serve fromits cache, and it may already have reached this maximum number. Ifanother EJB, with a lower hit rate, is cached, performance maydeteriorate beyond what is appropriate. (“Enterprise JavaBean” and “EJB”are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.)

In the prior art, as discussed earlier, an administrator decides whichcontent is most suitable for distribution to a CP server and thenmanually causes that content to be distributed. To decide what contentto distribute, the administrator typically (among other things) viewsreports of which content is most popular. The administrator then has tosearch for a CP server having certain characteristics. Thesecharacteristics may include factors such as those presented in the listabove. However, because many of these factors vary dynamically (such asthe amount of disk space currently available on a CP server), theadministrator is presented with a difficult and error-pronedecision-making task. Techniques of the present invention automate thesedecisions, and in preferred embodiments, a WAS initially proposescontent for distribution and the target CP servers then make the finaldecision. This approach enables the decision to be made using the mostup-to-date and accurate information.

Note that while information gathered when monitoring operations of a LBserver, CP server, or WAS using a tool such as TWA may be stored in adata warehouse such as TEDW in the prior art, the prior art does notteach using that stored information to make content caching decisions ofthe type described herein.

Returning again to the discussion of FIG. 4, if the CP server determinesat Block 405 that it cannot serve the candidate content, controltransfers to Block 420, where a response message indicating a rejectionis formatted. (The response message of preferred embodiments isdescribed in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5.) On the otherhand, if this CP server can serve this content, processing continues atBlock 410.

Blocks 410 and 415 represent a type of refinement of the decision as towhether the CP server can, and should, accept the candidate content.They are presented separately from Block 405 to emphasize that factorsconsidered by preferred embodiments when determining whether to acceptcontent for caching may include content priority. Block 410 testswhether there is sufficient space available in the cache for adding thiscandidate content. (It is recognized that available cache space mayfluctuate rapidly, and Block 410 may therefore be implemented using atolerance factor rather than performing an exact comparison of contentsize vs. currently-available space.) If the test in Block 410 has apositive result, then processing continues at Block 425, which isdescribed below. Otherwise, a decision must be made as to whetheralready-cached content should be replaced with the candidate content,and this decision is represented by Block 415.

The decision made at Block 415 preferably uses historical metrics, suchas those noted at element (1) in the list that was discussed above withreference to Block 405. For example, metrics from which historicalpopularity or priority of the candidate content can be determined,and/or metrics which can be used to predict anticipated popularity orpriority of that content nay be evaluated by the CP server.(Alternatively, the CP server may invoke function that is provided forthis purpose by another component, such as a metric-evaluator component.Such a component may be co-located with the CP server, out may beaccessed from another location, including by sending a request messageover a network connection to provide the metric-evaluator component withinformation for use in its computations.)

It should be noted that while the second aspect of the present inventionuses factors such as those described with reference to Blocks 405–415 todetermine whether to accept or reject the candidate content, animplementation of the first aspect may be provided separately from thissecond aspect, and the accept/reject decision made by a CP server insuch an implementation may be based upon other factors. For example, aprior art content replacement algorithm, such as a least-frequently used(“LFU”) or least-recently used (“LRU”) or other aging algorithm, may beused for this purpose.

If the evaluation performed at Block 415 indicates that there is noalready-cached content that is suitable for replacing with the candidatecontent, then a rejection message is created at Block 420, as discussedabove. Otherwise, preferred embodiments of this second aspect preferablyremember which content was deemed replaceable (Block 430), after whichprocessing continues at Block 425.

Block 425 formats a response message signifying acceptance of therequest to dynamically distribute content. Block 435 sends, to therequesting WAS, either the acceptance response generated at Block 425 orthe rejection response generated at Block 420, after which theprocessing of the current request message by the CP server ends.

FIG. 5 depicts a sample format and syntax for the response messages sentin Block 435. As shown therein, the response is preferably encoded in amarkup language, as has been discussed with reference to the requestmessage depicted in FIG. 3. In this case, an element 501, which forpurposes of illustration is named “CacheDistributionContentResponse”, isused to encode the response 500. Preferably, an attribute 502 of thiselement specifies the same content identifier value received on therequest message. (See element 302 of FIG. 3.) In this manner, the WAScan efficiently determine what content it should distribute to anaccepting CP server.

A child element is used in the sample syntax of FIG. 5 for encoding theaccepted/rejected indication, and in the example, this child element isnamed “Reply” 510 and has a “value” attribute with which theaccepted/rejected indication is specified. When the value of thisattribute indicates a rejection, as shown in the example, additionalchild elements may optionally be used to specify one or more reasoncodes for the rejection. For example, a numeric code may be providedusing a child element such as “ReasonCode” 520 and/or a textualdescription may be provided using a child element such as “Description”530. In the example, the CP server is shown as having rejected thecandidate content because this CP server cannot serve classifieddocuments.

As noted above with reference to Blocks 240 and 245 of FIG. 2, the WASmay try contacting a different CP server upon receiving a rejectionresponse.

Once the WAS receives a response message having an acceptanceindication, it sends the accepted content to the CP server, as statedabove with reference to Block 235 of FIG. 2. When the CP server receivesthat content (or, alternatively, during the processing of Blocks 415 and430 of FIG. 4), the CP server must decide where the content will beplaced. In addition, a decision may be made regarding how the contentwill subsequently be served to requesters. The historical metricspreviously discussed are preferably used, and by comparing this newcontent to the previously-cached content at this CP server, the newcontent can be prioritized. This priority may be used by the CP serverto determine optimal allocation of resources, such as one or more of thefollowing considerations:

(1) which disk the content should be placed on (e.g., whether thefastest disk should be selected, or the slowest disk, and so forth);

(2) whether the content should stay in memory; or

(3) whether there is other content related to this new content, and ifso, whether that related content can be pre-fetched to improveefficiency.

In an optional enhancement, content prioritization can be extendedfurther by grouping content, where this grouped content is referred toherein as a “content bundle”. Preferably, these bundles containassociated files that (1) are commonly downloaded together by clients;(2) have the highest hit rates; and/or (3) are locale-based. As anexample of the first scenario, suppose document “A” is a Web page thatreferences embedded image files “B” and “C”. These files A, B, and C maybe bundled together and treated as a single unit for which a cachingdecision will be made (and, optionally, as a single unit to be cached),in order to improve efficiency. As an example of the second scenario, aCP server may be asked, using the negotiation technique described above,to make a caching decision regarding a group of frequently-requesteddocuments (even though those documents are not related to one another).As an example of the third scenario, historical metrics may indicatethat clients of particular edge servers tend to request certain content(or certain types of content). The WAS may use this information toproactively request a CP server to decide whether to cache that content,effectively requesting the CP server to pre-load its cache to attempt areduction of cache misses (which, in turn, will improve efficiency).

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flowchart is provided that illustrates logicwhich may be used at a caching proxy server, according to the thirdaspect of the present invention, to selectively cache content whenprocessing a cache miss. As has been described earlier, when a cachemiss occurs in the prior art, the content is delivered to the CP server,for delivery to the requesting client, and the CP server also storesthat content in local cache. This may be inefficient if higher-hit-ratecontent is dropped from the local cache to make room for newly-addedlow-hit-rate content. Using techniques of the present invention, on theother hand, a CP server selectively decides whether it should cache thecache-miss content or whether that content should simply be returned tothe requester without being cached.

At Block 600, a client's content request is received at the CP server.Block 605 tests whether the requested content is already available fromthe local cache. If so, it is served (Block 610) to the client as in theprior art, and the processing of FIG. 6 ends. Otherwise, a request forthe content is sent from the CP server to a WAS (Block 615). Uponreceiving the requested content (Block 620), the CP server (or anevaluator component invoked therefrom, as discussed with reference toBlock 415) evaluates metrics (Block 625) to determine whether it will beadvantageous to store this content in the local cache. Historicalmetrics related to past client requests may be used for this purpose. Inaddition or instead, information about the CP server's resources (as hasbeen discussed above) may be used for this purpose. The CP serverthereby makes an intelligent decision (Block 630) as to whether it willkeep this newly-retrieved content in its local cache (Block 635) or justreturn that content to the client (Block 640) without caching it. Theprocessing of FIG. 6 then ends for this client request.

As has been described, the present invention provides a number ofimprovements over prior art content caching techniques. The threeaspects described herein may be implemented separately, or in variouscombinations. Operation of the function described herein may occur atalternative locations in some cases, and therefore the description ofpreferred embodiments is to be interpreted as illustrative but notlimiting. For example, while FIG. 2 was described with reference to aWeb/application server, this function may alternatively be performed bya different entity, such as a content distribution server or othercontent source. Techniques disclosed herein may be used advantageouslyin a number of different types of distributed computing environments,and thus preferred embodiments have been described with reference to Webservers by way of illustration and not of limitation. While the cachestore which is the location of potential content caching has beenreferred to herein as a CP server, this is for purposes of illustrationbut not of limitation.

Commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/670,753 (now U.S.Pat. No. 6,678,293). “User-Based Selective Cache Content ReplacementTechnique” (filed Sep. 27, 2000) discloses techniques for selectivelyreplacing cached content (including, but not limited to, dynamicallygenerated Web pages which have been cached) to provide a higher level ofservice to particular users or groups of users. This commonly-assignedinvention does not disclose use of negotiation or requests for dynamiccontent distribution, which are disclosed by the present invention, nordoes it discuss use of historical metrics or other factors forresponding to such requests. Furthermore, it does not discloseselectively determining whether to cache content in a cache-misssituation, which has been disclosed herein.

Techniques disclosed herein may also be used advantageously in methodsof doing business, for example by providing improved cache contentmanagement for customers. As an example of how this may be provided, aservice may be offered that (1) evaluates what content may potentiallybe proactively distributed to one or more CP servers and sends contentdistribution requests to those CP servers, and/or (2) provides, for a CPserver receiving a content distribution request, an evaluation offactors to determine whether it may be advantageous for that CP serverto accept the candidate content for caching. Typically, a fee will becharged for carrying out the evaluation(s). The fee for this improvedcache content management may be collected under various revenue models,such as pay-per-use billing, monthly or other periodic billing, and soforth.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, embodiments of thepresent invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computerprogram products. Accordingly, the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product whichis embodied on one or more computer-readable storage media (including,but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and so forth)having computer-readable program code or instructions embodied therein.

The present invention has been described with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams usable in methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions,which may be stored on one or more computer-readable media, may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processingapparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, whichexecute via the processor of the computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, create computer-readable program code means forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, additional variations and modifications in those embodimentsmay occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basicinventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claimsshall be construed to include preferred embodiments and all suchvariations and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A method of negotiated distribution of cache content comprising stepsof: selecting candidate content for distribution to a cache store;sending, to the cache store, a content distribution request message thatdescribes the candidate content; and distributing the candidate contentto the cache store only if a content distribution response message,received from the cache store responsive to the content distributionrequest message, indicates that the cache store will accept thecandidate content for caching.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the selecting step further comprises analyzing historicalmetrics to identify the candidate content.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the historical metrics represent content requested overa period of time.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecontent distribution request message describes the candidate content'ssize.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contentdistribution request message describes the candidate content's type. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the content distributionrequest message describes a security classification of the candidatecontent.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contentdistribution request message describes a hit rate of the candidatecontent.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting andsending steps are performed at a Web server.
 9. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the cache store is selected using historical metrics.10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the candidate content isselected for distribution to a plurality of cache stores, and whereinthe sending step sends the content distribution request message to eachof the plurality of cache stores.
 11. The method according to claim 1,further comprising the steps of: selecting, when the contentdistribution response message indicates that the cache store rejects thecandidate content, an alternative cache store; and sending the contentdistribution request message to the alternative cache store.
 12. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the content distribution requestmessage is encoded in a structured markup language.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the structured markup language isExtensible Markup Language (“XML”).
 14. The method according to claim 1,wherein the content distribution request message includes an identifierfor the candidate content and wherein this identifier is also includedin the content distribution response message.
 15. The method accordingto claim 14, wherein the distributing step uses the identifier to locatethe candidate content to be distributed.
 16. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the candidate content comprises a plurality of files tobe distributed as a unit.
 17. A system for negotiated distribution ofcache content, comprising: means for selecting candidate content fordistribution to a cache store; means for sending, to the cache store, acontent distribution request message that describes the candidatecontent; and means distributing the candidate content to the cache storeonly if a content distribution response message, received from the cachestore responsive to the content distribution request message, indicatesthat the cache store will accept the candidate content for caching. 18.A computer program product for negotiated distribution of cache content,the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readablemedia and comprising: computer-readable program code for selectingcandidate content for distribution to a cache store; computer-readableprogram code for sending, to the cache store, a content distributionrequest message that describes the candidate content; andcomputer-readable program code for distributing the candidate content tothe cache store only if a content distribution response message,received from the cache store responsive to the content distributionrequest message, indicates that the cache store will accept thecandidate content for caching.